I woke up to shuffling beside me. Octavia scooted closer to me, wrapping herself farther under her jacket. I looked up, mesmerized by the blue glowing forest above. Mushrooms could be seen throughout the trees as animals screeched around us. I sat up, taking in the birds chirping and the blue radiance of the trees. Finally, I stood throwing my jacket over Octavias sleeping figure. Carrying myself over to a tree stump filled with neon algae. Clarke and Finn were talking a little bit over the hill. I walked further, admiring the scenery when I heard a branch snap behind me. 'huh, that's weird. It must be one of the others' i thought. 

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" I heard the familiar voice. Clarke walked up, standing beside me. I kept staring out into the vast woods. "It really is. I never thought this would be the way I would spend my eighteenth birthday. But I'm not complaining." I laughed slightly. 

"Today's your birthday?" She asked. I nodded, picking up a bright pink glowing flower. "Yeah. This is better than being floated." I chuckled, looking over to her. Her smile dropped as we made eye contact. Then, silence overtook us as we sat in peace. 

"Today's my birthday too." She said quietly. I nodded, picking up the flower I had sat down with as I handed it to her, "Happy birthday." 

She genuinely smiled, grasping the flower in her hands, "Happy birthday to you too." We sat in a comfortable silence as birds chirped around and frogs croaked in the distance. "Hey, you wanna hear something funny?" She asked. I looked at her skeptically, "Sure,"

"Finn found a footprint. He thinks they're from monkeys." I laughed, hearing what she had just said as I held my hand over my mouth, trying not to wake anyone up. "I'm sorry, im- it was just funny." She laughed, seeing stupid the idea sounded. "I heard of Monkeys in earth skills, but they wouldn't have inhabited here and definitely couldn't be able to travel that far." I chuckled. 

"That's exactly what I said." She countered back. 

We both chuckled, talking about Finn and his conspiracy theories of the ground. How he either thought there were monkeys or bears. He even mentioned kangaroos. "You really care about him, don't you?" I asked, watching her face soften. "We've only been here for less than a day. I don't uh- I don't know." I nodded, smirking, "I see the way you look at each other. It's the same way Murphy used to look at me." 

Her brows came together in confusion as she looked at me, "Used to?" She asked. I sighed, rubbing my hands over my face in exhaustion. "He hasn't looked at me like that in months. I've been locked up my entire life, but he was the only one besides Octavia who gave a shit about me. He was there when I needed anything." I paused, "And I was there when he needed me. Even helped him fight off some assholes a few times." I laughed, thinking of the memory of how we first met. "We had been sitting in the skybox lounge, as we called it. Still prisoners, but prisoners with a social life." She snickered, "Some guy was making fun of a little girl. So I helped him beat the absolute crap out of him. Ever since then, we've been inseparable." My smile dropped, "Well, that was until they locked me in solitary with Octavia." I looked over at her, "Apparently, I'm dangerous, and guards hate her attitude." she frowned as we both sat in silence once again. 

"Your not locked up anymore, Natalia. You're free. Think about how they are up there, and we are down here, and maybe you'll be able to get over the past." She stated, breaking the silence. 

"I know you're trying to help Clarke, but once they come down. I won't be free anymore." I replied, standing up and making my way back toward Octavia. 

***The Dropship***

Wells laid on a tree stump behind a bush. Suddenly he felt a hand cover his mouth as he opened his eyes. Bellamy crouched over him, a gun in his hand pointing right at wells. 

"Shhh," Bellamy whispered. He walked Wells down into a valley. His gun pointed towards his back. "That's far enough," Bellamy ordered. The dark-skinned boy turned around. "I don't want to shoot you, Wells." He paused, "Hell- I like you. But I do need them." He pointed to the sky with his gun, "To think your dead." 

"Why? Why are you doing this? For real, not some crap about getting to do what you want to do." Wells shot back. Bellamy nodded, "I have my reasons. I also have the gun, so I ask the questions. And the question is, why aren't you helping me?" 

"Your dad banished your wells, and here you are still doing his bidding...Following the rules." Wells looked around as boys came from every direction, circling him. "Arent you tired of always doing what's expected of you? Stand up to him. Take off that wristband, and you'll be amazed at how food it feels." Bellamy tried to convince him. 

"No. Never. Not gonna happen. Is that clear enough for you?" He snapped back. Bellamy shook his head, sighing. "Yeah, it is." He cocked his gun as Wells stood up a little straighter. "I'm sorry it had to be this way." He tucked the gun into the band of his jeans. Murphy walked up beside Wells, flipping his knife around. Wells backed up in fear as another boy came up behind him. He tried to make a run for it, sprinting up a hill. Two boys grabbed his arms, dragging him back down as he yelled. He screamed, protesting as they shoved his hand down on a rock. Bellamy walked away, listening to Wells screeching for help. And like that, the chancellor's son was forced to remove his father's only assurance that he was alive. 

***The River***

Finn pulled on the vine attached to an overhead tree. "You wanted to go first. Now quit stalling," Clarke said as Octavia I threw pebbles into the river. "Mount weather awaits." Clarke chuckled as Finn grabbed ahold of the makeshift rope. We heard jasper and Finn talk about an Indian tribe as Clarke pushed Finn to hurry up. 

"Aye, Aye, captain." He turned to jasper. "see you on the other side." Octavia and I stared up as Finn pulled the vine back. I saw jasper and the brunette make eye contact when he turned to Finn. "Wait!" Finn stopped, "What?" He asked. Jasper glanced back at Octavia, "Let me." He said.

Octavia smiled as Finn handed him the vine. "Knew there was a badass in there somewhere." Finn bumped his arm as we all chuckled. He took ahold of it with both hands, his eyes lingering on the other side as his breathing sped up. "Hey, it's okay to be afraid, Jasper," Finn reassured him.  "The trick is not fighting it." Jasper nodded, looking back to where he was supposed to land. "Come on, goggles. You got this!!!" I shouted. He smiled, pulling back, "See you on the other side." He took another deep breath before gripping tightly. We waited in anticipation when he jumped, holding on while he screamed, swinging across the open water. "Yeah!!" He yelled as he fell, smacking one food on some driftwood as he landed onto the rocky platform. We ran to the edge as Finn caught the rope. "Goggles? You alright?" I yelled. He laughed, "WE ARE APOGEE!!" We screamed, pumping our fists in the air as Finn helped me up to the rope next. I saw Jasper looking around as he pulled out an old weathered sign. "We did it!" He yelled, holding up the old metal. I looked closely as he shouted, "MOUNT WEATHER!!" 

We laughed and cheered. Then suddenly, a brown figure passed by my eyes, and before I knew it, jasper had a spear piercing his heart. We looked behind us as Clarke screamed, "Jasper!!!" 

"Come on! Come on!." Finn shouted, pulling us behind the tree line. "Jasper!!" I screamed as Clarke held me back. "Get down!!" Finn said as we ran. We hid behind a big rock. As I screamed, we needed to go back for him. I held a hand over Octavia's mouth and a hand on her back, trying to get her to be quiet. We watched the trees, hearing shuffling as Clarke said the three words that would change everything. "We're not alone." 

Octavia cried as I pulled her into the treeline as we ran. "Come on, O!" I yelled, grasping tightly onto her hand. Both our injuries slowed us down, and I could feel pain shooting through my side every time I moved. We jumped over fallen logs and dips in the soil as we ran literally for our lives. Suddenly Monty fell before Octavia and me as we attempted to pull him up by the arms. "Come on, Monty! We gotta go!" I yelled. But he was focused on something in front of him. And when I looked at it, my stomach turned. A ribcage with bones surrounding it was hiding under some weeds. 

"Who are they?" Finn breathed out. Clarke picked up a disfigured skull, "What are they?" Monty was on his feet again as we stared at the bones before us. "I don't know, but I don't want to stick around long enough to find out! Let's go!!" I yelled. We all started running again when suddenly we heard a shriek cry from behind us. Clarke dropped the skull as she started to run back to the river, "Jasper! He's alive!" 

"Oh, you got to be fucking kidding me," I muttered as we all ran after her. "Clarke! Wait!! Wait!" Finn shouted. 

She was about to run out of the forest when Finn pulled her back, "Stay out of the trees!" He whispered. We looked in the spot Jasper was hit. He wasn't there. 

"He was right there," Finn whispered. I scoffed, catching my breath. "No shit! I thought I was imagining my friend being impaled then running for our lives!!" I snapped as Octavia leaned against me. 

"Where is he?!" Monty asked, still looking around. 

"They took him." So Clarke realized as we all gave each other fearful glances. 

We ran back through the trees, dodging everything in our way. The camp seemed further away from the more we ran before we could hear screaming and shouting. I looked at Octavia as I ran faster. Finally, we looked over a steep hill seeing Wells holding Murphy will a knife to his neck. 

"Wells!" Clarke screamed as I ran down the hill. He still hadn't let him go when I came up behind him, kicking his knee down. He screamed in pain as I took the knife from his grasp, holding it to his neck now as he laid on the ground. "Touch him again, and you won't be alive for me to second guess killing you." He nodded in fear as I kept my gaze on him, lifting the knife to hand to Murphy. I picked myself up, falling into Murphy's grasp as I winced from the gash in my side. "Hey? Look at me? Are you alright?" He asked. I nodded as he helped me sit down against a fallen tree. "Yeah, just almost got eaten by a massive snake." I lifted my shirt slightly to show him the three large wounds on my side. His eyes widened. "You know, just another Tuesday," I chuckled as he gave me some water to drink. Bellamy ran to Octavia as he placed her down beside me. "Are you alright?" He asked her. She nodded, drinking some water I had handed to her. 

"Are you?" I was still staring at the ground when Octavia nudged me in the shoulder. I looked up to see Bellamy was speaking to me. "Huh? Yeah, I'm doing okay." I smiled as he nodded, walking back over to Murphy to make sure he wouldn't pounce on wells again. "Where's the food?" Bellamy questioned. 

We all gave each other looks before Finn sat down on a rock, "We didn't make it to Mount Weather." 

"What the hell happened out there?!" Bellamy shouted as he gave Octavia and me a small side-eye glance. "We were attacked," Clarke exclaimed. "Attacked? By what?" Wells asked. 

"Not what, who." He paused. "It turns out when the last man from the ground died on the Ark wasn't the last grounder." I could hear the silence throughout the group as Bellamy's face softened. "It's true. Everything we thought we knew about the ground is wrong. There are people here. Survivors." I could hear murmurs behind me when Clarke continued. The good news is that means we can survive. Radiation won't kill us."

"The bad news is the grounders will." 

 I held my side as I attempted to stand. Murphy was sharpening his knife when Bellamy saw me struggle. He ran to my side as I instinctively threw my arm around his shoulder. "Thanks," I mumbled as he helped me hobble over to Clarke. Wells glanced around, "Where's the kid with the goggles?" He asked. 

"Jasper was hit," Clarke answered. "They took him." 

She looked down, seeing the piece of metal missing from his wrist, "Where's your wristband?" She questioned. He pulled his arm from her, looking towards Bellamy. "Ask him." 

Octavia and I instantly turned our heads to see his guilt-ridden face. Clarke stepped forward, "How many?" She asked. "twenty-four and counting." Murphy answered from behind her. 

"you idiots," Clarke whispered. "Life support on the Ark is failing! That's why they brought us down here! They need to know the ground is survivable again! And we need their help against whoever is out there! So if you take off your wristbands, your not just killing them. Your killing us!"

Bellamy scoffed, stepping forward, "We're stronger than you think! Don't listen to her! She's one of the privileged! If they come down, she'll have it good! How many of you can say the same?!" We can take care of ourselves!" That wrist band on your arm. It makes you a prisoner! We are not prisoners anymore!" He paused, "They say they'll forgive your crimes! I say, your not criminals! Your fighters. Survivors! The grounders should worry about us!!" And with that last sentence, I had had enough. 

"I saw the way that spear was thrown!" I yelled, causing the commotion to die down. "None of you would stand a damn chance against one of them. Not unless you want to be also speared." I scoffed, walking off, back to the dropship. "Hey!" I heard Octavia shout to me. "I'll catch up with you later, O.," I said, brushing her off. 

A while later, I woke up to shuffling coming from the other side of the dropship. I saw Clarke stuffing things into her makeshift pack as she started to breathe heavily. "Hey, are you okay?" I asked as she whipped her head around to me. "Yeah, I'm uh- I'm fine. This is all just a little overwhelming." She admitted. I chuckled, pulling my boots on. "Yeah, tell me about it." I walked over, handing her her jacket. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she gave me a small smile, pushing herself up off the floor. "You coming?" She asked. 

I nodded, throwing on my jacket. We got off the ladder as we saw Monty throw a bag over his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Monty, but you're not going." She stated. I saw the panic in his eyes as he stopped just before us, "Like hell, I'm not. Jaspers my berstfriend." 

"You're too important. We need you here to work on communication. You figure out how to talk to the ark, and We'll bring Jasper back."

We turned around, heading out as Clarke bumped into Finn, "Hey, you ready?" 

"I'm not going anywhere, and neither should you two. That spear was thrown with pinpoint accuracy from three hundred feet."

"So what? We let Jasper die?" Monty argued. 

"That's not going to happen." Clarke shot back. 

"Spacewalker? What a joke. You think your such an adventurer? Your really just a coward." 

"It's not an adventure Clarke...It's a suicide mission." I scoffed, walking out from under the red sheet.  I walked over to where Bellamy was cleaning Octavia's wound. "What the hell was it?" He asked. She mumbled a quick, I don't know. 

"It was like a man-eating snake. Pulled me under first, then her." He looked at me, then back at her, "You could have been killed." Finally, he paused, looking at me, "Both of you." Before I could answer, Clarke, walked up, "She would've been if Jasper didn't jump in to save her." 

"You guys leaving? I'm coming too." She jumped up as I pushed her back down, shaking my head. "No, no. No way. Not again." Bellamy beat me to it. "He's right. Your leg will only slow us down. "Then why can Nat go?" She asked as I smiled at her. 

"Because her's doesn't affect her walking. And she's the only one besides me who knows medicine." Octavia shook her head as Clarke walked up to Bellamy. "I'm here for you." He turned his head towards her. 

"Clarke, what are you doing?" Wells shouted from behind her.

"I hear you have a gun." She stated as he lifted his shirt to show her the black weapon in his waistband. "Good. Follow me." I started to walk off as he yelled, "And why would I do that?"

She spun back, slowly stepping toward him. "Because you want them to follow you." She gestured to the camp. "And right now, they're thinking only one of us is scared." He sighed, her brows lifted in amusement. He slid his jacket on as Murphy came to stand by me. "Murphy, come with me. Atom?" The boy perked up as he waited for Bellamy's orders. "My sister doesn't leave this camp, is that clear?"

"I don't need a babysitter." Octavia stood up. "Anybody touches her, they answer to me." He said as atom shook his head in understanding. "Let's go," Bellamy shouted as I gave Octavia a quick hug, following Bellamy and my boyfriend. 

"Since when are we in the rescuing business?" Murphy asked as he slipped his hand into mine. "The ark thinks the prince is dead. Once they think the princess is too, they'll never come down."

"You know she won't take it off, right?" I exclaimed. 

"I'm getting that wristband. Even if I have to cut off her hand to do it." I heard Murphy chuckle as I nudged him in the side. 

"Hey, hold up!" Bellamy shouted as we caught up with Clarke. "What's the rush? You don't survive a spear through the heart." 

"Put the gun away, Bellamy," Wells shouted. 

"Why don't you do something about it, huh?" Murphy jumped in front of Bellamy, holding Wells back. 

"Jasper screamed when they moved him. If the spear struck his heart, he'd of died instantly." Clarke looked Bellamy up and down, "Doesn't mean we have time to waste." She tried to walk away before he grabbed her arm. "As soon as you take this wristband off, we can go." She snapped her arm from him as she got in his face," The only way the ark is going to think I'm dead is if I'm dead. Got it?" She and Wells started to walk away when Bellamy yelled, "Brave princess!" 

"Hey, why don't you find your own nickname." Finn showed up through the trees as he marched over to Clarke. I hid a small smile seeing he wasn't actually giving up on finding Jasper. 

"You call this a rescue party? Got to split up, cover more ground. Clarke, come with me." Finn and Clarke walked ahead of us as Murphy, Wells, Bellamy, and I stayed behind a little farther. Murphy slipped his arm around my shoulder as we walked. "Are you sure your okay?" He asked me. I saw Bellamy glance back before I answered. "Yes, I'm alright. You worry too much." I chuckled. He kissed the side of my head, "I have reasons. You know that." He muttered back as my laughing ceased. I knew he was trying to be protective, but every time he said something like that, I couldn't stop the memories from my past from flooding in. The cold steel against my back as I could hear him chuckle above me. My eyes shut tightly when I felt his hands travel up my body. I wanted to scream, but he was a member of the guard. I knew he would say he was detaining me, or I was threatening him. So I kept quiet. I was ripped from my intrusive thoughts as Murphy yanked my arm forward. I saw Bellamy's eyes linger on me as Murphy pulled us past him. We met up with Clarke and Finn. Finn kept walking as we scoped our surroundings. "Hey, how do we know this is the right way?"  Murphy questioned. 

"We don't. Spacewalker thinks he's a tracker." Bellamy snapped. 

"It's called 'cutting sign' fourth-year earth skills. He's good." 

"Well, apparently, he's not too good because we just walked past a snapped branch with blood on it." I